Julius

The way that ended leaves such a bad taste in my mouth. Juve have shown that Real clearly aren’t the force that they’ve been in previous years right now. That could change in the coming weeks, but right now I’d fancy any of the remaining teams’ chances against them. What draws do you want to see in the semi-finals? I’d love to see Bayern v. Roma and Liverpool v. Real.

This is nuts. The ball’s completely in Juve’s park now. One more goal could effectively kill off this tie. They need to try to finish the tie before the end of normal time, though, because Real are probably the fittest squad on the planet and have already shown time and time again that they have the legs to make the difference in extra time if they need. Man, I love football.

Yeah, I’ll be shocked if Real don’t respond. They’ve already come close. Kudos to Juve and Roma, though, regardless of if the former actually manages to make it through. This is the best Serie A representation we’ve had in the CL for nearly a decade.

They’re 2-0 up now!

Juve 1-0 up already. Another comeback on the way?

Only 15 days to go

Kotaku have just published Jason Schreier’s piece on what their sources have told them about the PS5. They waffle a bit, so I’ll summarise: • Of the dozens of contacted (including major third- and first-party developers), only two said that they were directly familiar with plans for the PS5. • Those familiar with the plans stated that it’s unlikely to launch in 2019, let alone 2018. However, they and Schreier do vehemently note that such windows are always subject to change by external factors (such as competitors launching their own next generation console). • Of those who were contacted, many who are developing games for 2019 and beyond told Schreier that if there is information regarding the PS5 at their companies, they haven’t heard anything about it. • Of those contacted, there has so far been no news regarding the next Xbox. • It is noted that there was roughly a 12-24 month known window prior to the PS4’s launch where studios got their hands on the dev kits; even if they have been sent out, we are likely still a ways off, as these are the first rumblings of them being out there. • At the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco last month, Schreier heard secondhand rumours that, in meetings between Sony and developers, 2020 was vaguely hinted as being a potential year of release for the PS5.

Insomniac have said that the game won’t have any microtransactions, and that the suits available as a pre-order bonus can be unlocked without pre-ordering the game — it just gives those who pre-ordered access to those suits from the beginning, should they want to use them. And, about the number of suits, this is from Game Informer’s interview with Insomniac:

I think you’re hitting the nail on the head here, to be honest @S.C.G: the core demographic, besides the older JRPG lovers who will try anything (no sleight against them - those guys are awesome), just seems way too narrow. Going back to Pokémon, it’s absolutely core demographic is as young as a gamer can be up to probably mid-teens (15/16ish) or so. Yo-Kai Watch seems to be aimed at such a niche of mature children from 8 - 13/14, which completely overlaps with Pokémon, which already has that built-in nostalgia over here, meaning YKW’s market in the West is probably going to choose a Pokémon game over it every time. And if they do pick it up? It’s very likely a toe-in in the wait for the next Pokémon game. Adjusting to a slightly more mature audience by focusing on some slightly more mature themes (not crazy stuff, but hard-hitting character driven stuff found in games like the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series) could open that up audience just that little bit more to give them a better position over here. For now, it just feels and looks like a Pokémon knock-off franchise (no offence to those who like it or are involved with it) in the same way that Digimon did back in the day, and in the same way that Yu-Gi-Oh did after that. Definitely needs a little soul-searching to anchor itself over here, which I don’t want to bet against, simply because Level-5 makes some great stuff. I haven’t dipped into any of the games either yet, but I’d like to give it a go at some points, at the very least to just give a more educated insight into what could be improved and how it can differentiate itself from Pokémon more effectively.

I don't, but my little brother (who's 11) played both the first and second entries, and I think he really enjoyed both of them. Outside of Japan, though, it doesn't seem to have stuck as well as Level-5 might have wanted it to, which would explain why Yo-kai Watch 3 still hasn't come to the West, despite releasing in 2016 in Japan. Part of it, I think, is down to the West's now deeply rooted nostalgic ties to Pokémon having saturated that corner of the market over here - it reminds me of Digimon's and Yu-Gi-Oh's stunted performance over here, not just as video games, but as franchises. From what I've read, Yo-kai's deep ties to Japanese culture (and Yo-kai spirits) didn't make it as accessible as it could have been for a younger audience, and might have turned off some parents, and the actual mechanics of the game's battles seem somewhat confusing (again, from what I've read/have heard) too, so it does seem to be aimed more at the avid JRPG monster-collecting fan/more mature young children compared to, well, Pokémon.

I believe that he's allowed one, should Liverpool want to give him one. He's cup-tied in the Champions League, meaning that he is technically tied only to Liverpool for the duration of the entire season in the Champions League. It's worth noting that said rule will be abolished at the end of this season, likely as a result of his transfer to Barca and Aubameyang's transfer to Arsenal in January. The official UEFA handbook states that the winning team will receive 40 gold medals, with the onus seeming to be on the winning team to accredit a squad member (which Coutinho would technically still be) with a gold medal. So it would seem like it depends on Klopp's/Liverpool's relationship with Coutinho after his move.

No, not from what I've read about it so far

For sure, I agree. Remember seeing VAR's effects on the last few minutes of a very tense Serie A game a couple of months back, and it was a buzzkill. I do think that VAR - as it is - is used overwhelmingly in the wrong places: reviews of fouls (which could still go either way most of the time) are completely different to offside calls, because fouls are (in most cases) subjective to the referee, whereas offside calls should ideally be objective. I definitely don't want to take anything away from Liverpool, because they were superb over the two legs, and wanted it just that much more - that much was clear at the opening of the first leg. However, I do think that this tie could have played out very differently for City had the right calls been made in those offside call situations, which definitely seem a better way to implement aspects of VAR into football, and wouldn't kill the joy of the game, but actually make it a bit more intense and fair (a bit like challenges in tennis). Definitely nervous for its use come this summer at the World Cup, and I'm interested to see if UEFA at least review their stance on the matter. EDIT: Man, the noise. This is what the game's all about.

It seems that Yo-kai Watch 4 has been announced for the Nintendo Switch in this week's issue of Famitsu. Whilst information on the game and its contents remains light for now, the game has been confirmed to have a 2018 window for release in Japan. Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino commented that “its content is getting a super high-grade power up, including some things that will surprise everyone. The third game has yet to make its way to the West, so it will be interesting to see if - and when - this fourth entry will make its way over.

Haha, I'd agree actually, Bayern under Heynckes now look as professional as they have ever been since he left back in 2013. Would love to see Juve mount a comeback, but playing away to do so at the Bernabeu (and without Dybala) seems a big ask, even for them.

Holy smokes. First season without Totti, and their first UCL semi-final (since the rebranding)?

Seriously, kudos to them. Everyone was looking to England for a possible comeback tonight when they should have been looking at Italy, and Roma were very cruelly written off by many media outlets over the last week. Wouldn't be surprised if Barca score and ruin their party, but I'd like to see Roma make it through. Sevilla to come back against Bayern tomorrow? Or how about Juve against Real?

Roma are 3-0 up! What is happening in Rome?!

The thought of City going out here just makes me worry about what their owners might be willing to invest come this summer, especially with the World Cup giving Guardiola further opportunities to scout some players. Maybe even more so because quality defending isn't as intermittent as quality striking can be at such competitions, and that's very clearly where they need to shore up (and find some cool heads) prior to next season.

By the way, Roma are just one goal away from knocking out Barca (after a De Rossi pen. and an early Dzeko goal) - if they can hold out and keep a clean sheet, that is...

Might be over now with that goal and Pep being in the stands. I have to wonder if that Sane goal being declared offside - in addition to a goal being called offside in the first leg that shouldn't have been (?) - will push UEFA to review their stance on VAR. As it is, there are no plans to include it in next season's European competitions.

Nuts that there wasn’t any added time from what I’m reading (catching up as I had to step out), either? Pep being sent to the stands could really go either way for City. Should be a good second half...

Well, that was quick.

I'm going to say 4-1 to City, with Liverpool going through on away goals. Like you, I don't see City shutting Liverpool out, but I also find it incredibly difficult to imagine City and Guardiola not reacting in a strong and positive way to losing twice in a row, and it looks like they're setting up a 3-4-3 variation (probably a 3-4-3 diamond) judging from the line-up. As a neutral for these games (and as someone who just loves Klopp's and Guardiola's tactical styles anyway), I have to admit that I want City to go through more than Liverpool, and that's nothing against Liverpool [as a Chelsea fan]. I just think Guardiola's City - having more or less won the league already - would be in a much better position to progress in the competition than Klopp's Liverpool would; Guardiola's tactical style is designed for wins into the later stages of knock-out competitions and is already a tried method against the top European teams over the Channel, whereas Klopp's tactical style (especially against the likes of Real, Barca and Bayern) is only there to be taken advantage of by such opposition. Not to mention that Liverpool are, by all means, still fighting for as high a position as possible in the league to qualify for the Champions League next season without the need to go through qualifying rounds.